Jury selection in Roger Clemens’ trial has begun

For the latest, most complete coverage of the Roger Clemens perjury trial, make sure to check out Chron.com’s TRIAL OF ROGER CLEMENS page. Get the latest news and insights from Texas on the Potomac’s team (Stewart Powell, Regina Garcia Cano, Elizabeth Traynor and Rick Dunham), along with award-winning Chronicle sports columnist Jerome Solomon, daily news links and guest commentary from sports and legal experts.

Roger Clemens being sworn-in on Capitol Hill on February 2008. Clemens is being retried for lying to Congress. (AP photo)

Jury selection for the re-run trial of baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, who is being accused of lying to Congress, has begun today in Washington.

Clemens remained silent as he entered the courthouse this morning with his six-member team of lawyers. The group appeared in good spirits with Clemens laughing and talking with one of his attorneys as headed to the courtroom.

Presiding the trial is U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton. He has started reading 86 questions to the pool of roughly 80 potential jurors.

Twelve people will be selected make up to jury.

The prosecution team has added three members in the nine months since Walton declared a mistrial. Last summer, prosecutors entered evidence during the second day of the trial that Walton had banned.

Prosecutors contend Clemens lied to Congress during a House hearing into the use of performance enhancing drugs. He repeatedly insisted he had not used steroids.

Prosecutors’ star witness will be former strength coach Brian McNamee who claims he injected Clemens during the 1998, 2000 and 2001 baseball seasons.

During a pre-trial hearing on Friday, defense attorneys and prosecutors battled over what can and cannot be said during the trial, which is expected to last between four and six weeks.

Clemens played major league baseball for 24 seasons, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros. He won seven Cy Young Awards, a selection for 11 All-Star teams, two World Series championships with the Yankees, a Most Valuable Player award with the Red Sox and selection for baseball’s all-century team.